


ThorLokiWeek Secret Santa Submission #2

by Velvedere



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Crossdressing, Exchange Student, First Kiss, M/M, Secret Santa, thorlokiweek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-22
Updated: 2014-12-22
Packaged: 2018-03-02 22:17:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2828009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Velvedere/pseuds/Velvedere
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just pretend this is a ridiculous shojo anime where Loki is royalty from a foreign country and comes to America to live with Thor for a year. This would be the high school senior prom episode near the end of the first season.</p>
            </blockquote>





	ThorLokiWeek Secret Santa Submission #2

Thor sighs, looking for what is probably the thirteenth time towards the entry way of the school gym. It’s brighter without than the dim lighting inside, causing everyone who passes through it to appear in silhouette the moment before they’re allowed entrance.

He drops his eyes back down, again disappointed.

He takes another gulp of punch.

Steve is out on the floor, dancing politely with any girl who asks. He does well until a slow song comes over the loudspeakers, during which he has to actually touch his partner. Then he’s reduced to pink cheeks and stepping on other peoples’ feet.

Phil maneuvers his way around and through the crowd, filming the event and recording student and faculty comments for posterity.

But mostly for Steve.

Clint and Natasha dance together every song until they get bored and start an impromptu poker game in the corner using condom hand-outs in place of chips.

From the looks of it, Natasha is winning.

Tony has taken up a position beside the refreshment table, flirting with anyone who approaches while Pepper bears it all calmly with a smile and fills another cup.

Bruce is…well, he doesn’t see Bruce anywhere. But the gym is crowded and Bruce is easy to overlook.

Fury and Vice Principal Hill have their stake-outs among the crowd, keeping their attention sharp for trouble.

Thor sighs again, and puts his chin in his hand.

Sif reaches out and pats his shoulder.

“If he said he wasn’t coming,” she says under the level of the music, “then he’s not coming.”

_“Schooooooooooool’s out! For! Summer!”_ sing the trio just behind them, off-key but in time with the music.

“What he says and what he does aren’t always the same thing,” Thor mumbles. He clings to hope, gaze remaining turned towards the entry way.

_“Schooooooooooool’s out! For! Ever!”_

He does turn back to Sif, though, and nod to indicate the dress she’s wearing.

“You look lovely.”

Sif rolls her eyes, but appreciates the effort.

“I look like a hooker,” she grumbles, and reaches back to adjust the strap of her dress over one shoulder. She shifts uncomfortably in her heels. “And not the expensive kind.”

Thor opens his mouth to protest. He thinks she looks rather like she always does: like an athlete. The dress she chose to wear that night only shows off her lean musculature all the better.

But he decides against it, and shuts his mouth.

No one has been brave enough to ask Sif to dance yet. Thor thinks it is because she intimidates them.

_“Schooooooooooool’s been blown! To! Pieces!”_

Thor looks down at himself. The suit he wears feels as out of place on his person as Sif looks in hers. But such were the things worn to a senior prom.

“Why is it so important to you that he comes?” Sif asks, ignoring the Fandral, Volstagg, and Hogun as they laugh and bellow and nearly spill a drink on her. “You’ve been living together all year. It’s not as though you won’t see him again.”

“Yes, but…” Thor makes a pained face. “He’ll be leaving after graduation to go back home. I may…not see him again.” He takes another deep drink of his punch. “I only thought…this could be our last time to have fun together. To see our friends.”

“Not everybody gets to host a prince from another country,” said Sif. “You knew he was going to leave someday.”

“I know.”

Thor rubs his face.

“I just didn’t know it would come so soon.”

_“Schooooooooooool’s out! For! Summer!”_

“Come on.” Sif tugs his arm, and pushes herself up to stand. “Let’s go get another drink.”

Thor nods, and follows her.

“Welcome, Xena Warrior Princess and Captain Hammer,” Tony greets as they approach. He smiles his best, and reaches an arm out to slide around Sif’s waist. “What can we get for you—ahah _ah!”_

Sif grabs his wrist and twists his arm to a painful angle before letting go.

“Punch, please.”

Pepper refills their cups.

Thor sips his without really tasting it.

Another glance towards the entry way. Another sigh of disappointment.

“What’s the matter, big guy?” Tony asks – safely on the opposite side of Thor as Sif – as he tugs down the cuffs of his suit. “Why aren’t you out there making Steve look short?”

“I’m not very good at dancing,” Thor mumbles apologetically over the top of his cup.

“Maybe something that involves a little more pile driving?”

When nobody laughs, Tony turns, slipping a bottle from inside his suit to unscrew and dump into the punch bowl.

“Right. Well. This ought to liven things up a little.”

“Tony,” Pepper says in warning.

Tony doesn’t flinch.

“Don’t worry. The student yearbook committee will thank us.” He recaps the bottle and slips it back into his coat. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go get my camera—hello.”

He stops, as indeed all other activity seems to stop, and looks towards the entry way.

Loki stands just inside, sweeping his gaze over the budget decorations.

Of course not all movement _really_ slows to a halt. Not everyone notices Loki enter right away.

Though Thor thinks they should.

He’s wearing a dress.

Not a...well, not a _dress_ -dress, Thor thinks, squinting as his mind tries to recover from a graceless stumble. One could call it a dress. Perhaps it’s technically a robe, with a very low back but a very high neck and a slit down the side that give just a hint of leg as Loki walks and...

Thor blinks. Shakes his head.

Loki has his hair back, styled neatly, not a strand of it out of place. He steps inside and pauses for a moment, the way models do in the center of a red carpet, and casts his eyes about the gym’s interior. As if to simultaneously scope the place and allow everyone a moment to take him in.

It’s the _way_ he’s wearing that dress that is the reason no one laughs. Or snickers. Or even says a word. Loki possesses an innate grace and confidence no high schooler dressed for their senior prom could quite imitate, or should probably even have. Even in a dress. Green and black and highlighted in gold.

Loki doesn’t just wear that dress.

He _commands_ that dress.

The difference between royalty and commoners, Thor supposes.

“Damn,” says Tony, breaking through Thor’s stupor. “I’ll never look that good in heels.”

Thor swallows, not realizing until then he’s holding a mouthful of punch in his cheeks.

He sets his cup down before he drops it and wipes his mouth, fumbling with the napkins.

He looks to Sif, panic and excitement battling for control of his features.

She smiles, and rolls her eyes a little, before nudging him in the ribs.

“Go on,” she says.

Thor’s smile is massive. He turns and eases his way into the crowd, intensely careful not to knock anyone over. Or touch anyone at all, if he could help it.

Everyone is smaller than him.

And, right now, all he can think about was Loki.

Loki steps in smoothly from the other side of the gym. Even dancing couples part before him like water.

They meet in the middle.

“Thor,” he says, smiling gently.

“Loki!” Thor beams in return, hands itching at his side to pull him into a hug. “I...thought you said you didn’t want to come?”

Loki lifts one shoulder, made even more slender-looking by the dress’ design. The small gesture is immaculate.

“I changed my mind.”

Thor wants to smile more, but isn’t sure he can without splitting his face in two.

“You look...ah...” He stumbles.

Loki waits, the barest corners of is mouth upturned in thinly-veiled amusement. He raises his brow expectantly until Thor finished.

“That is...you look...very...ah...”

“Is this acceptable wear?” Loki lifts his arms to present himself, turning just so. The slit down the side of the dress falls over his calf, drawing Thor’s eyes like a thread. “I should have asked beforehand what is considered taboo.”

Thor can’t think of an answer. His mouth is dry.

Which makes Loki smile even more.

“I’ll interpret that as acceptance.”

“What? Oh, yes! Yes, you look...ah...” No adjective Thor can think of suddenly feels worthy. He looks over his shoulder instead. “The trio are just over here! I know they’ll be happy to see you and our other friends as well will want to spend time with you before saying goodbye, and—”

Loki steps forward. He puts a hand over Thor’s mouth, firm enough to make him fall silent.

“I didn’t come to see them,” he says quietly. He slides the same hand down over Thor’s lips and to his chest, fingers curling around his tie. “Will you dance with me?”

Thor blinks, again his entire vocabulary woefully lacking.

“Uhh…”

“Are two men allowed to dance in your culture?”

“It...depends on who you ask,” Thor murmurs. Loki is already moving his hand down into Thor’s, linking their fingers to tug gently back and lead him out into the space cleared to be a dance floor.

Thor goes.

He hears the whispers. Feels the eyes on them. Some in surprise. Some in shock.

All in awe.

When Loki decides they’re sufficiently separated from the rest, he turns back to him. He steps in close and puts his arm around Thor’s shoulders, taking up his hand in the other.

“This isn’t a song to slow dance to,” Thor blurts.

Loki smiles, already beginning to lead.

“It will be soon.”

It takes no time before he is right. Whether it is coincidence or Loki tipping the DJ near the door with a request when he entered, the music changes.

Thor forgets to notice much else after that.

They move together. Thor feels…large…and clumsy compared to Loki’s smooth elegance. His confidence. Thor spends much of the first and second verse of the song looking down at his feet to make sure he steps in the right place. Or he looks off to the side, just in time to catch someone averting their eyes from where they are staring.

By the third verse, he’s brave enough to look to Loki’s face.

Loki’s eyes are half closed, his head tilted down, as though studying the pattern of Thor’s tie.

Thor clears his throat. Swallows hard.

“I’m glad you came,” he says, finally, when a lull in the music allows room to speak.

“So am I,” Loki says.

“I’m…sorry.” Thor fumbles, nearly tripping over his footing. “For being upset. Before.”

Loki lifts his eyes to him. Even in the dim light, their sharp clarity cuts.

“I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“It’s just…” Thor struggles for words. Struggles to think at all, and not focus on the line of Loki’s jaw just where it meets his neck. To follow that line down to the intricate patterning at the dress’s collar. To the dark hair resting against his nape.

Thor wonders what it would be like to brush his hand through that hair.

“It’s just...I wanted to be seen with you,” Thor says, as earnest as he can manage with the feel of a tightness welling in his throat. “Because…I’m proud of you. Of everything we’ve done this year. Of how far you’ve come. And…I wanted to celebrate. One last time. Before…”

Loki laughs gently.

“You wanted to show me off?”

“No! No. Not like that. I—”

Loki lifts a hand to touch his cheek. Slow. Thoughtful.

It steals away anything else Thor thought to say.

“It’s alright,” Loki says, barely over a whisper. “I wanted to be seen with you, as well.”

As the music swells, he lays his head against Thor’s shoulder, and closes his eyes. He breathes, and it’s a peaceful sound close to Thor’s ear. He can feel the ease in the rest of his body.

Somewhere between there and the end of the last verse, he’s lifted up Loki’s chin and bent to kiss him.

They stop dancing.

The kiss lasts a long time.

A very long time.

When the next song starts, it is loud and jarring. Teenagers on all sides cheer at the popular tune and lift their arms, shouting for more volume.

Thor and Loki break to look at each other.

“Should we go outside?” Thor mumbles, suddenly far too warm.

“Yes,” says Loki, similarly flushed. “We should.”

*****

The air outside is a welcome relief, cool and thin and full of stars. Thor goes immediately to rest his hands on an empty bike rack set into the pavement.

Most of the stars can’t be seen for streetlamps surrounding the school building, but he knows they are there.

The dance goes on inside, bass thrumming even through the brick wall. For a moment the patch of parking lot is illuminated as they slip out through a side door of the gym. It clicks shut behind them, and locks, closing them in deep shadow.

For along while, it’s quiet.

Loki leans against the wall of the building, hands folded behind his back. When Thor looks back to him, he sees his face turned away, looking down over the hill towards the baseball field, as though in vague interest.

The snug fit of the dress makes his entire outline one long, uninterrupted sculpt.

It’s a good look for him.

Thor takes a breath, his heart quick to race again once he thought it had calmed.

“I’m still going to have to leave,” Loki says suddenly, beating him to it. “This changes nothing.”

Thor stands there for a moment with his mouth open.

He finally thinks to say: “What changes nothing?”

Loki looks to him sharply. Mildly annoyed.

“You know what.”

“Oh.” Thor drops his gaze to his feet. He straightens his posture, fidgeting in place. Torn between the urge to be near him again and to keep a respectful distance.

“I know,” he says, nodding. “But, it doesn’t mean…”

He trails off. When he looks up again, Loki is expectant. Waiting for him to finish.

Thor had hoped he would be interrupted again.

“It doesn’t mean we have to change.”

“Doesn’t it?” Loki arches an imperious eyebrow. “In a few days, I’m going to leave. Duty demands it. I may never be able to come back.”

“Then I will come and visit you.”

That makes Loki laugh. It isn’t quite as condescending as he sometimes laughs, but it’s still enough to make Thor twitch.

“Can you even find where I’m from on a map?”

Thor sets his mouth in a firm line, and steps closer to him.

“I mean it,” he says. “If your family expects you to stay home and be involved in your country, then you should. That’s important. But it doesn’t mean that has to be the end of it. We shouldn’t hold ourselves back if something happens that is…real.” He wrings his hands, anxious. “That we both want. Like this. But I won’t stop there! Nothing comes from pining. If I have to work to come up with the air fare then I will, but…”

Thor realizes he is rambling, so he stops.

Loki’s eyebrow remains dubious. His expression hasn’t changed.

“Stark spiked the punch, didn’t he?”

Thor blinks.

“No.”

Then shakes his head.

“Well, yes, but that’s not the point!”

“What is your point?”

“My point is…!” Thor throws both his hands in the air. “I want to kiss you again!”

Again, Loki doesn’t react much. Several long heartbeats pass in which Thor tries to catch his breath. His arms flop at his sides, defeated.

Until Loki reaches out and grabs his tie to pull him nearer.

“Then kiss me,” he whispers. A quiet demand a moment before their mouths meet again.

Thor makes an awkward squawking noise before his arms close around him and he leans Loki into the wall, hands on his dress. Loki’s scent, sound, and feel cover all his senses.

They’ll go back inside in a little while, Thor decides. In a little while.

There’s really no hurry.


End file.
